Inside Philippine politics & beyond

Ahhh the now-beautiful Imee Marcos

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Guest blog by Lorraine Marie T. Badoy

Guest-Post-webI am reprinting this with Lorraine’s permission. It is a citizen’s reaction to Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos showing off her well chiseled body on the cover of a magazine.

For a long time now, the Marcoses have been trying to crawl into public affection by getting featured in the lifestyle sections of newspapers and in fashion and leisure magazines. Their beautiful photos hold a deep dark secret that they wish the public will simply forget. This is the message of  Imee Marcos’ magazine cover. 

Ahhh the now-beautiful Imee Marcos.

Massive plastic surgery done exceedingly well.

I am grateful to know, for once, where our money went and that it was well-spent—unlike Bongbong’s Oxford “education”. (We all know what happened there. Nagpa aral TAYO sa Oxford, anong ginawa? Ha? Anong ginawa mo, Bongbong? DRUGS, PARTY, BULAKBOL. Pulpol.)

But Imee did her homework well.

Got one of the best plastic surgeons to chainsaw her baba and anime her eyes and god knows what else. Yes ok, it’s still a pain to know we paid for her makeover. Still, you gotta hand it to her.

The homely girl with Arsenio Lacson-like features is no more.

Plus OF COURSE, there’s photoshop, plastic surgery of the masses.

And people –even those who know the truth—have been oohing and aahing.

And me, left out in the cold again.

Because I see this for what it is.

I see how massive wealth stolen from a country bleeding and down on its knees can be used to buy not just respectability but oh-darn-god adoration from the very people this family of shameless thieves have bled dry.

I look at this and I can’t help but see, in my mind’s eye, the hordes of people who swoop down on Rustans grocery in my neighborhood when it closes at night, to scavenge for food.

And I see reed-thin half naked children knocking on my car’s window to beg for food.

Millions upon millions of Filipinos living worse than dogs—under our bridges, in hovels made of torn tarpaulin and stitched together with the flimsiest of their desperate hopes.

And I cannot help but see children of Samar covered in boils weeping with pus and blood from their heads down to their toes because there are no health services in a country mired in widespread theft by those in power—the solid Marcos legacy: systemic and systematic corruption.

And I can, once again, smell the sour pungent smell of the severely impoverished that hits you in the face and stays on your skin no matter how hard you scrub nor how many times you soap yourself.

And I see red, Imee.

I see the blood of thousands of martyrs of Martial Law–bloodied, hogtied, chopped with evidence of severe torture, rape.

And I see the bloodied body of Archimedes Trajano—the 22 year old Mapua student who had the temerity to ask Imee Marcos in an open forum “Must the Kabataang Barangay be headed by the president’s daughter?” And this so angered the plastic-surgeried one that Archimedes Trajano was picked up right there and then by Imee’s bodyguards and tortured and killed.

22 years old.

And his life was over.

22 years old.

Like my son is now.

And as curious-to-know-answers as my son is. Lucky for my son, he can now ask that question of any politician and not get killed. (And NO. I AM NOT A FAN OF NOYNOY. OH YUCK.)

I look at this and I see Archie’s parents looking down on their 22-year old son’s bloodied body in the mortuary and asking “Why him, God? Why our son?”

Before I hear any Marcos loyalist ask me for proof, eto na: In 1993, A U-S Federal Court in Honolulu awarded Agapita Trajano and ten thousand other Filipinos two billion U.S. dollars in damages for human rights violations covering torture, disappearance and murder under the Marcos regime.

Fat chance though that this will register with the willfully obtuse (obtuse is a polite term for ‘stupid’).

So yeah, I look at the heavily-photoshopped, massively-plastic-surgeried Imee and I see the truth Marcos loyalists do not want to see and what the deeply asleep cannot see:

A monster who continues to live in vulgar extravagance with wealth stolen from generations of Filipinos.

Someone who is part of that family of obscene fucks who stole our country’s bright future and has done so without a tinge of shame nor remorse.

And I see too, that OTHER obscenity—the Philippine Tatler, the Maurice Arcaches and Tim Yaps of Philippine high society (as in, “High ka ba?”) who collude with each other and cover each other’s crimes and grant each other respectability—no matter if it damns an entire country.

The feudal lords spraying Chanel no 5 on each other to cover the stench of blood on their hands and extolling each other so those who are asleep will blindly follow and oooh and ahhh.

Gising, mga kababayan ko.

Nagmamakaawa ako.

Gising na.

Comments

  1. Hi guys,

    My Akismet is again going whacky on me, moderating comments of old time commentators.

    Pls. bear with me while I try to fix the problem.

  2. oot but similarly annoying:

    http://www.msn.com/en-ph/news/opinion/denr-air-pollution-monitoring-useless/ar-AAfnhN6?li=AAb280R&ocid=SK2CDHP

    what is the purpose of our emission testing being done annually?
    what is being done by denr on firms polluting our system?
    what is llda’s accomplishment being the watchdog of waste water drained to tributaries down to laguna lake?
    etc. etc.
    we are fond of pakulo. borloloys. chuvalus!
    if clean air act is being complied, do we need those expensive devices?

    • Huwag naman tayo manghuhusga ng ganyan. Ang isang tao kahit gaano man kasama, ay may chance pa in the eyes of God na magbago. Kasalanan kaya na ipatong sa mga anak ang naging kasalanan ng mga magulang. Who knows baka sa pagkandidato ni Bongbong, eh gusto lang niya makabawi, manilbihan ng wasto? Ang Panginoon nga ay hindi agad-agad nanghuhusga, tawo pa kaya? Bigyan naman natin sila nang chance na makapanilbihan.

      Ang mga previous administration eh wala din naman gaano na nagawa sa Pinas. Mas lumala pa nga ang corruption kasi maski Brgy Captain, naging corrupt na. Hindi tayo ganyan noong panahon ni Marcos ah.

      Gusto ko lang ipaabot na bigyan naman sila nang chance. Kung hindi naman tayo makatutulong, huwag na lang manira sana. Tao din sila tulad natin na kailangan ng respeto. Thank you for reading.

      • @flor

        Ilang taon ka na? Sabi mo “hindi tayo gantan noong panahon ni Marcos ah. ”

        Saan ka nag-aral?

        Lumaki ka ba na may magulang?

        Kumain ka na ba?

        Mahirap maging tanga.

        • Thank you Andrew Lim for reminding the IDIOT what is wrong with her but you forgot if she has taken her meds yet at mukhang isa pa ding may sayad yan.

          Gusto niyang mangonsiyensiya sa atin pero Hindi niya isinaalang alang ang mga naging biktima ng martial law, ang nangyari sa economy ng ating bayan, ang patuloy na pagbulusok ng kahirapan dahil sa mga magnanakaw na sumasamba Kay Marcos ( Kasama ka dito Duterte – huwag ka ng magpanggap…. Buko ka na!

      • magbasa ka sa FB ng Kaprobinsya ng Quezon at may kwento doon direct from anak ng biktima ng Martial Law ni Marcos..

      • @flor, mawalang galang na po sa iyo.
        tao ka na ba noong panahon ni makoy? i mean ilang taon ka na noon?
        kasi kung tao ka na noon pa, ang masasabi ko lang, baka ikaw ay nasa solitary confinement.
        walang kahalubilong sosyedad.
        o kaya noon, ikaw ay nasa isang malalim na hybernation.
        o isa ka sa nakikinabang sa mga super alalays ng conjugal plunderers.
        or isa ka sa mga cronies.
        or sadyang tanga ka lang talaga at hindi alam ang tama o mali.
        kung mga tao sila, hindi nila gagahasain ang bansa…

      • LOL, kaya pala FLOR, si idol mong bongbong M. kusang nagtalumpati sa isang Libing ng sariling Kasinungalingan? Yan ba ang Pagbabago na tinutukoy mo. Maawa ka sa sarili mo. Malamang ang Factory ng Droga ng Kasinungalingan ay nandyan sa inyo Flor, sa Ilocos!

    • You guys are really miserable. Wala kayong appreciation. You are all full of negative ideas. Maybe inngit lang kayo. Kung wala kayong maitutulong sa ikauunlad ng Pilipinas, then shut up! bakit ba pag Marcos, madaming against? — Takot ba kayo or inggit. or why don’t you run in the politics para maipakita ninyo ang inyong katalinuhan sa maraming bagay. Simple lang mga kaibigan, pag ayaw mo ang tao, di ka naman, kilala nila Marcos., so anong pinagpuputok ng butse mo?

        • Indeed, why don’t you create an NGO or a cooperative or even a company so that you can walk the talk proving to the world that you can create or provide service to our people instead of spewing hot air that have no quantitative basis or probative value?

        • And I should do this because…you have the requisite papers issued by his Imperial Trollness Penix? Alas, that does not suffice. I shall require the sacred seal. And the Ring of Slime. And a funny dance. I believe you know how it goes – you wiggle your rump the endearingly desperate way you do when you bow to the Baby Marcos.

      • snakepit didumdida

        lahat kasi LIES LIES AND LIES! Ikaw ba tanggap mo na yung kanyang Panga at mga Mata hinawakan ni Michaelangelo? Retokada! Manloloko pa rin. consistent Corrupt Ways and Character. Yan na yan.

  4. Natural BEAUTY like everything natural. . . wither-wither away.

    . . . Though how much or how many of it is tried to return to it’s naturalness. . . still wither-wither away.

    Wither-wither ang dadat-nan. Dat is NATURE’S unsolvable nature.

    The Fountain of Wither-Yot!

    hahaha

    • yong nanay ni imee ay mukhang bangkay na rin, bloated. imelda ought to move on and get married, gaya ni zaza padilla, dolphy’s widow. happy si zaza ngayon, radiant ang smile niya, so unlike imelda who still lives in the past, hankering for old days.

  5. LIKE FATHER, LIKE DAUGHTER: IMEE MARCOS TIED TO OFFSHORE TRUST IN THE CARRIBEAN (gma news online 4/4/13)

    “Maria Imelda “Imee” Marcos Manotoc, the eldest child of the late Philippine dictator ferdinand marcos and now governor of Ilocos norte, is beneficiary of a secret offshore trust, a primary way her father allegedly stashed away hidden wealth overseas.

    “The hardworking and popular local official – widely known as Imee Marcos – is one of the beneficiaries of the Sintra Trust, which financial records uncovered by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists show was formed in June 2002 in the British Virgin Islands.

    “Other beneficiaries are Imee Marcos’ adult sons with estranged husband Tomas Manotoc: Ferdinand Richard Michael Marcos Manotoc, Mathew Joseph Marcos Manotoc, and Fernando Martin Marcos Manotoc.

    “Scores of documents, the most recent dated 2010, show that Imee Marcos was also a financial advisor for the Sintra Trust as well as a company in which Sintra Trust was a beneficial shareholder called ComCentre Corporation, formed in January 2002 in the BVI and still in operation.

    “Philippine law requires government officials to disclose their assets no matter where they’re held, and Imee Marcos’ disclosure statements (SALNs) do not list the three offshore entities.

    “It is not known what assets they hold, but one Sintra Trust document refers to a bank account with United Overseas Bank Limited, a financial institution headquartered in Singapore. Another record related to ComCentre refers to an account at HSBC.”

    With vast wealth hidden abroad that came from the blood of thousands of Filipino victims of martial law as well as from foreign loans diverted to the marcos’ secret bank accounts overseas, imee can easily change her ageing figure into an alluring one until the flesh deteriorates into a dracula-like vampire.

    • Well, is it a crime to have a Trust? What is wrong being connected with a Trust or even its Advisor? Being listed as beneficiary of a Trust does not mean ownership of the assets of the Trust, if any. Myopic indeed are people who would go to all extent just to create an illusion of wrongdoing when the most that the document contain is a reference to a bank name. It is just pathetic that “investigative journalists” who do not know that they do not know would be ranting with figments of their imagination similar to writers who have parlayed their “imaginative writing” into a tool for propaganda and outright lying.

      • “What is wrong being connected with a Trust or even its advisor?”

        See paragraph 6 :

        “Philippine law requires government officials to disclose their assets no matter where they’re held, and Imee Marcos’ disclosure statements (SALNs) do not list the three offshore entities.”

        It was right there staring at you. So who’s pathetic now?

        • Continuation:

          “The documents indicate that in her role of financial advisor, imee marcos had powers to direct the investment of trust assets held by banks and other financial institutions.

          “The so-called “settlor,” “trust protector,” and “master client” listed in the documents is Mark Chua, a Singapore-based businessman. imee’s sister-in-law Liza Araneta Marcos, in newspaper reports published in May 2007, had named Chua as imee’s boyfriend. The settlor refers to the person who creates the trust by transferring asset that he or she owns to the trustee, who then assumes legal ownership of the assets on behalf of the beneficiaries.

          Like her father, marcos and imelda opened four secret bank accounts in 1968, just two years after marcos became president, to the Xandy Foundation. The couple hid their identities, using the false names “william saunders” and “jane ryan” when they opened the Swiss bank accounts.

          “Fruit never falls far from the tree. Like parents, like daughter,” said former Sen. Rene Saguisag.

        • Just as a lot of lawyers in Singapore are nominated as “financial advisor”, they do not necessarily own the assets as they may just hold such assets in a fiduciary capacity. Secondly, it is normal opening accounts in various names which is not necessarily the baptized name. Note that a name can be registered as a juridical name which can henceforth be used as the account name. The account name does not have to be the baptized or Christian name. Better mag seminar ka na lang muna sa akin tungkol sa tax avoidance at di kita singilin para meron ka naman alam.

          FYI, the first foreign account was opened with Credit Suisse and the forms were filled up using a typewriter in the middle of the night at Malacañang.

        • Read carefully what was written – or you didn’t pass English & Comprehension in Grade VI? A link by way of directorship which is just titular is never the same as ownership. One can be an SVP or an EVP or even a President of a company which is just a title and yet not own even a single share in the company. So if ever she is not an owner of any share, there is no reason for disclosure. The sentence is very clear with the use of the word HELD. Since no single share may be in her name, is there need for reporting? This is just being strictly legal but I am sure, those who can not see logic or reason will say again that I am “bulag”, hehehe.

        • No, you read carefully. Or better still, take off your Marcos-red colored glasses when you read so you can actually comprehend the real intent and motivation of the Marcoses in opening and holding all these secret trusts and bank accounts.

          I actually don’t think you are bulag. Duling is more like it. When a Marcos is down, you want to pick up two of them.

        • Hija, what you are doing is putting malice in a simple act of establishing a trust and opening an account with a foreign bank. All businessmen (who are no idiots) open trusts where they put their money. There is nothing illegal when one opens an offshore trust. A man opens a foreign account and you interpret and put a sinister interpretation to the act?

          FYI, Marcos was already a trustee for certain assets even before he was president. The “first” account opened when he assumed the presidency came from excess campaign funds from the 1965 election. If me memory serves me right, that was only about USD60Million (exchange rate at that time was about 2:1). That has ballooned to about USD15B conservatively at the present. Kung hindi ba naman gago yang si Andy, I sent PCGG a lot of emails before on how to maximize use of such assets but they slept on the suggestion. I suggested first that the law ought to be relaxed that the mony should go to funding education and healthcare directly instead of reverting the funds to the National Treasury where they will just be plundered as what happened to the USD600M funds in Singapore. If they had issued an EO to that effect, the outcome would have benefitted more.

        • M C, read carefully and entirely Rule VII of Republic Act No. 6713 (Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Official and Employees). See if anything there confirms your part about “One can be an SVP or an EVP or even a President of a company which is just a title and yet not own even a single share in the company. So if ever she is not an owner of any share, there is no reason for disclosure.”

          Better yet, check with any relative or friend who’s an experienced, ethical liar….este, lawyer.

    • wala na kayong magagawa.! Insttead of thinking how she became beautiful, why don’t you think about yourself, your family.? inuubos mo lang yung oras mo sa pagproblema kung sino ang me ari ng ganito, blah-blah. Jealousy yan. ugali ng mga taong walang alam kundi manira ng ibang tao. Magsimba kan nga at isispin mo kung ikaw ay hindi makasalanan na Tao. Maski ano pa man ang pagsira ninyo sa mga Marcos, wala kayong magagawa. You can not put a good man down!!!
      Tama na! think how Philippines will rise again. Napag-iwanan na ang Pilipinas.

      • I think about myself, my family, and my country. As if I must choose only one or two instead of juggling all three.

        Bakit din ako maiinggit sa mga taong nagnakaw at nagapi ng iba?

        One thing I’ll agree with you is that the country will rise again. And that’s regardless of the Marcoses and other people who don’t know any better.

      • Cristina, ipagdasal mo na lang na sana magsisi na ang pamilya marcos dahil sa mga kasalanan nila, walang puwang sa kanila ang langit, walang purgatoryo ineng, derecho sila sa impiyerno.

  6. sad.
    sad.
    sad.
    nakabalik ang mga pinatalsik at tahimik ang karamihan.
    sad.
    sad.
    sad.
    heto na sila.
    unti-unti nang lumalapit ang mga yabag patungo sa kanilang pinagnanasaang muling makubkob.
    sad.
    sad.
    sad.
    pag ang dayunyor ng mandarmbong ay nahalal, isang punyal ang tatarak sa mga puso natin.
    sad.
    sad.
    sad.
    parekoy, nasaan ang kuyog?

    • Nice poem. Not poe-em. Rather: Poe-us and Marc-us. SAD. SAD. SAD.

      Unless we rise to the challenge.

      • we must rise to the challenge.
        yes.
        rise to our rage.
        let’s all challenge each one of us.
        tik-tak-tik-tak.
        time is so near…
        they are here…